MLB The Show 16 Guide: How To Improve Your Pitching

MLB The Show 16 released earlier this week and once again provides players with authentic gameplay that feels like a real baseball experience. The core gameplay is very similar to past games, which also means that the sometimes steep difficulty is present as well.

We already gave you some tips on how to get better at hitting, which is arguably the hardest thing to do in the game, but now we are moving on to the pitching side of the game with some tips on how to improve your pitching in MLB The Show 16.

Similar to hitting where it is a good idea to learn the pitches that the opposing pitcher has in their arsenal, it is vital to learn just how each and every pitch that you could potentially use in the game works. This ranges from the few different fastballs, as well as pitches like the changeup or slider. Knowing just how much break your particular pitcher has on their curveball or how much velocity they can pump up on their fastball can mean the difference in winning or losing a game, though you will have to adapt when using new pitchers obviously.

Once you know your different pitches, make sure to start mixing up your pitches. You really don’t need to go out there and throw the same one or two pitches every time, as the opponent will eventually figure them out and start hitting you much better. Instead, try to rotate at least between three different pitches, with some pitchers have up to five total pitches to use.

When mixing up the pitches, be smart about how you use them, such as maybe throwing two different types of fastballs and then throwing a changeup in there to really surprise the batter. Using followup pitches like this can help to throw the batter off, leading to them swinging too early or too late.

This next tip may seem very obvious, but almost always try to get a first pitch strike if you can. A lot of batters will be sitting on the first pitch anyways, and it’s always a bad idea to start off behind in the count. After getting ahead in the count, you can play around with the strike zone a bit and try some outside pitches that may get them swinging for strike number three. If you have a batter in an 0-2 count, you almost never want to throw something right in the strike zone, but try to either paint the corner or get them to swing at one just outside of it instead. Sliders and curveballs are especially effective in this situation.

If you do let a runner on base, you will then need to keep an eye on them to prevent them from stealing an easy base on you. The game displays for you very visibly the speed and stealing stats for the players on base, so this can help you know which ones could potentially be trouble that you may need to watch. Always remember that you have the ability to do a pitch out if you are almost certain that someone is about to steal, as long as you are ahead in the pitch count and can afford to give up a ball.

It is also important to keep an eye on the energy level of your pitcher, as you want to start warming up guys in the bullpen usually at least a half inning ahead of time if possible. This allows them to be fully ready to come into the game, as coming in cold will not bode well for most any pitcher.

Like with hitting, these tips won’t guarantee you success on the mound in MLB The Show 16 due to the unknown nature of sports, but hopefully this will help you mow down your opponents in the future.